Happy Birthday To Elizabeth Barrett Browning.....

Hello from a wet and chilly Cornwall, so different from yesterday when the sun was shinning and birds were singing. There may be signs of spring with flowers blooming but the weather today says otherwise...

March 8th will be International Women's Day. So I thought in preparation for that day I would write about some women who made their mark in history. Today being March 6th I thought it would be appropriate to begin with a world renowned poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was born on this day in 1806......
1934 Film with Norma Shearer, Fredric March and Charles Laughton

I first became aware of Elizabeth as a child when I watch the 1934 film with my mother. No it wasn't in 1934 but much later..lol..I have always been an avid reader and was naturally enthralled by the romance portrayed in this film...

A later film made in 1957 starring Jennifer Jones, John Gielgud and Bill Travers

Both films portray Elizabeth as a gentle but determined woman of ill-health living with a tyrannical father and submissive siblings. But her poetry and love of Robert Browning gave her strength to leave this oppressive life and to flee to happiness in Italy...but what was the real Elizabeth Barrett Browning really like.....

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Moulton-Barrett was born on 6 March 1806, in Coxhoe Hall, between the villages of Coxhoe and Kelloe, County Durham, England. She was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era and was widely popular during her lifetime in both England and the USA. Shortly after her death on June 29th 1861 her husband, Robert Browning, had published a collection of her last poems ‘A Musical Instrument’....

Elizabeth in her Youth

Elizabeth was the eldest child of twelve children (eight boys and four girls) born to Edward Barrett Moulton Barrett and Mary Graham Clarke. All but one child survived to adulthood, a girl who died aged three when Elizabeth was eight years old. All of the Barrett children had nicknames, Elizabeth being known as ‘Ba’....
The Barrett’s family wealth derived from members of the family for generations owning land and businesses in Jamaica. One of the stipulations of inheriting this wealth was that name of Barrett should be held as a surname, hence the name being seen twice in Elizabeth’s name....

Aurora Leigh's Dismissal of Romney ("The Tryst") by Arthur Hughes 1845

In 1809 Edward Barrett bought Hope End, a 500-acre estate near the Malvern Hills in Ledbury, Herefordshire where Elizabeth spent her childhood. It was the time spent here that would later inspire her to write Aurora Leigh....

''Of writing many books there is no end;

And I who have written much in prose and verse

For others' uses, will write now for mine,–

Will write my story for my better self,

As when you paint your portrait for a friend,

Who keeps it in a drawer and looks at it

Long after he has ceased to love you, just

To hold together what he was and is''.

An 1871 engraving by T. O. Barlow of an 1859 photograph by Macaire Havre of Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth was educated at home and attended lessons with her brothers' tutor. She was an intensely studious child reading novels as young as six years old and becoming passionate about poetry by eight years old. Both her parents encouraged Elizabeth in her own work. Her mother compiled Elizabeth’s poetry into collections of ‘’Poems by Elizabeth B. Barrett’’ and her father called her the ‘Poet Laureate’ of Hope End. Elizabeth’s first known poem "On the Cruelty of Forcement to Man" was written when she was about six or eight years old. As time went by Elizabeth saw her brothers go off to school knowing that she would not follow in their footsteps. She was very close to her siblings and had great respect for her father...

A scene from the 1957 film depicting Elizabeth with her father

At about fifteen years of age Elizabeth and two of her sisters developed the same condition but where her sisters recovered Elizabeth did not. She suffered with intense head and spinal pain with loss of mobility. The medics at that time were not able to diagnose what it was and so Elizabeth began to battle with this lifelong illness. In 1928 Elizabeth’s mother died which left her very bereft. Her maternal aunt, Sarah Graham-Clarke, helped care for the children but Elizabeth and her aunt’s personalities clashed....

A Cafe on Wimpole Street, London, bearing the name Barretts of Wimpole Street

Both Elizabeth’s maternal and paternal family derived some of their fortune from slave labour which she was passionately opposed to and published two poems highlighting the barbarity of slavers and her support for the abolitionist cause. This stance and belief may have caused a rift between herself and her father. Following lawsuits and the abolition of slavery, Edward Barrett suffered financial losses and had to sell Hope End and in 1838 the family moved to 50 Wimpole Street....

Another image of Elizabeth

While in London Elizabeth’s distant cousin, John Kenyon, introduced her to literary figures, some of who she corresponded with. 1838 also saw Elizabeth’s work ‘The Seraphim and Other Poems’ appear in her own name. It was in this year that she also became very ill with what may have been tuberculous. On medical advice the family moved to Torquay, Devon. Sadly in February 1840 Elizabeth’s brother Samuel died in Jamaica and then in July of the same year her other brother Edward died in a sailing accident. Elizabeth was devastated and this had a serious effect on her health. In 1841 the family moved back to Wimpole Street....

Letter from Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barrett, 10 September 1846

On her return to London Elizabeth spent most of her time in her bedroom with spaniel dog named “Flush” and her health began to improve. Between the years 1841-1844 Elizabeth continued to write and publish her work. Her 1844 volume Poems made her one of the most popular writers in the country at the time and inspired Robert Browning to write to her, telling her how much he loved her work. Her cousin John Kenyon arranged for Robert to visit Elizabeth in her rooms on May 20th 1845 and so began one of the most famous courtships in Literature. Both had influence on each other’s writing but critics say that her poetry and her health had diminished since knowing Robert. Her doctor advised her to go to Italy to avoid an English winter but her father would not hear of it....

A scene from the 1934 film depicting Robert and Elizabeth with her faithful companion Flush

The courtship and marriage between Robert and Elizabeth was carried out secretly for fear that her father may disapprove. The couple married at St. Marylebone Parish Church with Elizabeth’s loyal nurse, Wilson, as witness. In September 1846 Wilson accompanied the couple on their honeymoon to Italy, which became her home for until her death....

A scene from the 1957 film depicting Robert and Elizabeth at their secret wedding

Edward Barrett disinherited Elizabeth but what upset her most was the disgust of her brothers, who saw Robert Browning as a gold-digger. The couple appeared happy and were well-respected in Italy. The couple came to know a wide circle of artists and writers and Elizabeth continue with her poetry and with her work being published. Elizabeth’s health improved and in 1849, at the age of 43, she gave birth to a son, Robert Wiedermann Barrett Browning, who was known as ‘Pen’....

Elizabeth Barrett Browning with her son Pen, 1860

After the death of a dear friend and later her father the family moved from Florence to Siena where Elizabeth became engrossed in Italian politics. After expressing support for the Italian cause during the fighting in 1859, an English magazine called her a fanatic....

Robert Browning in later life

In 1860 they returned to Rome only to discover that her sister Henrietta had died. This devastated Elizabeth and she became weak and depressed and gradually her health went into decline. On June 29th 1861 Elizabeth Barrett Browning died in her husband’s arms in Florence, Italy, aged 55. She was buried in the Protestant English cemetery of Florence, Italy....

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's tomb, English Cemetery, Florence, Italy, 2oo7

Portraits of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning

Elizabeth left behind a legacy of her outstanding work and a belief that love can survive despite many obstacles....

Until next time, take care...Hugs Chrissy xx

~~~~~~~

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with a passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning ~